EAST LANSING, Mich. – The ITA Midwest Regional came to a close on Monday afternoon and two Notre Dame players were the last competitors on the court for the entire event. Senior Yu Zhang and Sophomore Chase Thompson faced off in an all-Irish consolation singles final.
Zhang had a step still to take Monday morning as his semifinal match still needed to be played whereas Thompson was already awaiting the winner in the finals. Zhang turned in one of the most dominant performances of the tournament, taking out his NIU opponent 6-3, 6-0 and avenged the losses of his two teammates to the Husky from earlier in the tournament.
In the final match, Zhang and Thompson would battle back and forth and need a tiebreak to determine the winner. Ultimately, the senior from China would take the breaker 8-6 and the one set to love lead. Capitalizing on momentum from the first set, Zhang jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the second and that would be enough. The Irish teammates would each hold serve their respective three times but the lead would be enough for Zhang to take the match and the consolation bracket title, capping off the week with a 5-match win streak.
Overall, the Notre Dame men’s tennis team had a variety of success at the event. Two doubles teams made the quarterfinals of the draw and in total the Irish won 8 doubles matches. In singles, Dominko made the quarterfinals of the main draw, collecting three wins before his run came to an end. Thompson and Zhang each won 4 matches en route to the consolation finals. Adding in wins by teammates, Notre Dame tallied 17 total wins amongst the team.
Day 5 Results
Consolation Singles
SFs Zhang(ND) def. Gaztambide(NIU) 6-3, 6-0
Finals Thompson(ND) vs. Zhang(ND)